Warmth to a Frost Child
by hanazaki462anime
Summary: Jack wants to feel the warmth, see the sun, and for once, the ground not covered in white. Bunny stands still and holds the staff, watching the frost child crumble. No pairings. Rated K plus because it's sad. Contains all Guardians, not just Jack and Bunny. Prequel to "Un-Melting".
1. Chapter 1

**Warmth to a Frost Child**

**A/N: Yes, because ****_everyone_**** knows I ****_totally _****own Rise of the Guardians!**

**...Seriously guys, I don't. So don't sue me.**

**So this just... flew into my mind like a hyperactive Tooth and was about to fly right back out but I managed to write it down. Enjoy the first chapter!**

**Summary: Jack wants to feel the warmth, see the sun, and for once, the ground not covered in white. Bunny stands still and holds the staff, watching the frost child crumble.  
**

* * *

Whenever Jack Frost joins up with the rest of the Guardians in the North Pole, he sits the farthest away from the fireplace, and sometimes it seems to him that they are huddling away from him, away from his cold, away from the unwelcome. He does not blame them. There is a reason he sits so far away from the source of heat; he doesn't want to accept the fact that he cannot feel the warmth.

A long time ago, when he was still in his frantic state of realizing no one could see or hear him, he discovered this power, this curse. He had tried sticking his hand in an abandoned campfire, but the fire went down and there was still no warmth.

So now Jack sits in the chair in the corner, not wanting to be reminded of the fact that he is not human. Of course, it is hard to say any one of them are human, but still, they find comfort in warmth, have normal interactions with each other, have normal temperatures, have body heat;

He does not.

While Jack silently contemplates whether he should leave or not, North suddenly booms out a jolly laugh from whatever story Bunny was telling, and the sudden jolt back into reality surprises him and his staff slips out of his fingers and as it clatters to the floor, he feels-

He feels a spark of warmth.

When he blinks once, twice, to make sure that the feeling is real, he confirms that the warmth _is _real. Then he realizes that the others are staring at him worriedly and questioningly, and that he has let out an audible gasp.

He masks his surprise with a grin and shrugs it off. "Sorry, dozed off for a while. Didn't know where I was for a sec."

The others accept this as a plausible excuse except for maybe Bunny ("How do you fall asleep during one of _my _stories?"), but in the end everybody is laughing and they don't notice Jack inching his chair forward, into the heat, into the company.

The heat grows and Jack is _ecstatic_.

After another five stories or so, Sandy's stories being elongated into an odd game of charades ("So then ya threw a block o' cheese a' them?" "No, wait! You asked Manny for help! Right?" "Ah, so dat's vhat it vas. Sorry, Manny."), Tooth looks back at him. "Jack, are you okay with being so near the heat?

The Spirit of Winter in question (but that is just so _silly_ because there _is_ no other "Spirit of Winter") blinks and flashes a grin, which is sure to throw the Tooth Fairy off track a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got absorbed into you guys making a game of charades out of Sandy's story." As he speaks, he unclasps his hands, which come away sweaty. That's odd. He's never sweated before. Jack decides to chalk that one up to the effects of heat, but it's apparently natural so it's nothing bad and he actually feels _human_.

After storytelling time is over and Tooth and Sandy get out for work, North tells Jack that he can stay in the room, while the jolly man himself makes a sleeping bag for him and leaves the room. Bunny leaves an off hand comment of "Ya forgot yer stick over there, Fros'bite," taps his foot on the ground twice; and he's gone before Jack can retort with "It's a _staff_!"

Jack decides to hang back in North's place for a while; give people a week to panic over that thing called "global warming" (whatever that is), and then come back with a gusto of a crystalline winter. But for now, he can rest in the newfound warmth, and he walks to go retrieve the staff.

As soon as the rough wood touches his fingers, however, the warmth, which was like a steady flow of syrup, is cut off and he's encased in an invisible prison of cold again.

With a half-strangled yell, he drops his conduit and in a panic, flails and falls back on his side. North is there in a heartbeat, with blue strings tangled around his arms and swords out and ready, but puts them away when he sees Jack down on the ground. "Vhat happened, Jack?" North asks, helping him off his feet and handing his staff to him. Dusting himself off, Jack scratches the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Whoops, fell over my own staff. Sorry, just being stupid here." North chuckles and tells him to "Be more careful, da?" and hands him a dark blue sleeping bag with a glittery snowflake sewn on the front. The man known as Santa Claus then notices the fireplace. "Oh, I vill put dat out for you, Jack." Jack mentally panics and stammers, "O-oh no, i-it's okay, you don't have to-to do that. R-really."

His heart plummets when North pats his shoulder and says, "Jack, ve are family now! Ve do things for each other, no need to be afraid of asking for help!" And North looks so content with snuffing the fire out, so _proud_, that Jack doesn't have the heart to tell him to try and start another one. So he settles with a "Thanks, North," with a forced grin, but he is used to fake smiles and North doesn't notice-can't _possibly_ notice-as he wishes Jack a good night and closes the door.

Jack scolds himself for his cowardice, and shuffles into his new sleeping bag. He looks at the staff, berating himself again. He also doesn't have the courage to abandon it, which marks his friendship with the Wind and is also a crucial memoir of saving his sister. He can't even _think_ of throwing it to the side, but he just wants the cold to _go away_. He can't do that unless the staff was taken away from him, and he would never let that happen.

But what if he gave it to someone?

The thought makes him bolt up into a sitting position, and he fumbles with the tangled sleeping bag for a long time until lying down again. He could just give it to someone! And then he would only come back once in a while when he needed to spread winter, and them he could give it back to whoever he gave it to, and he could just walk and be-be _human_. And the best part is, the staff won't even affect others like it affects him! This had been proved when Jamie had touched it last week and he had seemed fine.

With that thought in mind, Jack sleeps and dreams of being warm.

* * *

**This shall be my first three-shot with a sequel! (Yay I've never written sequels and prequels before :D)**

**Review for updates, at least five will do. But seriously, please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Woop! Thanks for the reviewies, I ate those up as fast as Bunny eats a carrot! But... but honestly, do some of you even sleep? I got about thirty emails at midnight. I'm so happy, you guys, thanks!**

**So if you've read some of my other stories, you'll know that writing present-tense is not my forte. So I shall write in past tense, which is completely intentional because I wanted the first chapter to be somewhat unique.**

**Also, sorry for the long-ish A/N, but I have to say this; ****_Jack still doesn't like being parted with his staff._**** I'm not accusing you guys of saying otherwise or anything, it's just that I'm not talented enough to fit this in clearly. He just thinks that he can bring someone to hold it near him, so he still feels safe, but not so he touches it. And yeah, he's going to be in a bit of trouble.**

**With that, enjoy the second chapter!**

* * *

Jack didn't like being second in racing. He didn't like being second in _anything, _especially if the person who beat him was Bunny. Rivals, brothers, whatever. When it came to racing, he was always up for a challenge.

To give up the source of his speed, the Wind, his first true friend, was a big thing for him to do.

Not to mention that it was giving him second thoughts. Shouldn't he be controller of the snow and ice, and oh, y'know, _the _Winter Spirit?

And then Jack remembered the warmth, the new found human trait, and his rational thought leaned to the completely irrational choice.

Bunny would keep his staff for him.

There was actually a reason he had chosen Bunny. At first, the mother figure of the group, Tooth, had seemed to be the obvious choice. But then he predicted-and probably correctly assumed-that she would be a bit too occupied with his teeth to fully grasp that he still needed the staff at a pretty close distance to feel comfort from it. And plus, she would probably be too busy, what with kids loosing teeth every second of the day. The next choice was Sandy. As the oldest and wisest (from what he had heard) of the group, Sandy would most likely understand his predicament and be happy to keep his precious staff safe. Yet another wall came up to him and blocked his way; Sandy was also busy, and as much as he trusted the silent guardian, his staff not being on solid ground made him a bit nervous. After all, even if it was magic sand, Sandy probably needed all that. North was the next one up for debate; he was the one that he viewed as a father, a person he could trust with personal needs and thoughts. He had almost made up his mind had an elf not rammed into a shelf next to him and smash all the snow globes there. What was worse was that they were the magic kind, so there was a huge whirlpool of deathly portals in the middle of the room. Jack would have probably ended up half in New York and half in Seoul had North not come in and somehow deactivated the portals. Yep, as much as he knew North was trustworthy, he knew that the smaller inhabitants of the North Pole _weren't._ He was about to give up when he began considering Bunny.

The Pooka strangely seemed to be the wisest choice.

E. Aster Bunnymund was as caring as the rest of the group (as much as he denied it), and had gained the right to Jack's trust fair and square. He had solid ground to support the staff on, and the egglets, although clumsy, were all organized and had their own routines, unlike the elves. From the time (well, _times_) Jack had covered every inch of the Warren with snow, he knew Bunny had his own room off limits to all and even he dared not to go inside. He was busy, but not so much as Tooth or Sandy, seeing as that his holiday was about once an year, and the egglets knew where they needed to go anyway. It was clear; Bunny was pretty much the only person he could entrust his staff to.

He had already told North that he would be visiting Bunny, so that was no problem. With a final nod, he summoned his friend Wind for possibly the last time in a while, and darted through the skies toward Australia.

✽❄**WARMTH**✽**TO**✽**A**✽**FROST**✽**CHILD**❄✽

Bunny was not amused. "Ya want me to_ what_?"

Jack sighed. Couldn't he see that this was _important_? "I just need you to hold onto this for a while. It's pretty important," he added, in case the Easter Kangaroo didn't get the point.

Bunny rubbed his temples tiredly. "Can't ya see I'm busy, ya little bugger? I've got things to do, unlike you. I can't just keep watch over a flimsy stick-"

"_It's a **staff**!_"

The Pooka flinched, taken a bit aback at the outburst. Unlike their usual banter, Jack's words had come out sharp as icicles and his icy blue eyes flashed with thunder like the snowstorms he was so well known for. As fast as the anger had come, it ebbed away quickly and Jack leant back on his conduit of power. Only now did Bunny see that he was as tired as he was. "Alrigh', alrigh'; calm down, mate. Can I at leas' have the reason why?"

Jack's eyes lit up; in a good way. "So you can watch it for me? Okay, okay, I'll tell you," he said when Bunny gave him a look for avoiding the question. Jack ran a hand through his hair, and inhaled deeply.

"I want to stay away from my powers for a while."

The Easter Bunny gaped. "Wha'?"

Jack promptly slapped his hand to his forehead. "Oh my god, are you _deaf, _Bunny? Again, I want to-"

"I know, I know, mate. Just.. how come?"

The frost child bit his bottom lip; this was always the hardest part. In a small voice that wasn't meant to be picked up by the Pooka's sensitive ears, he whispered,

"I'm just tired of the cold..."

His face popped back up grinning, unaware that Bunny had heard his little confession. He practically jabbed the staff at Bunny, and as the surprised Guardian of Hope took it, he could have sworn the wind itself coiled around his hand and tried to stop him from taking it. It failed when Jack let go on his own volition, and Jack smiled the widest smile Bunny had ever seen him smile, even though Jack's face suddenly seemed flushed. Jack then ran towards the tunnel for North America like a hyperactive child. "See ya, Kangaroo!"

Bunny blinked. "Wha' jus' happened?" he asked to no one in particular. He looked down at the stick-no, wait, _staff_-and back at the tunnel Jack had raced into.

E. Aster Bunnymund wasn't sure where Jack had went other than somewhere in North America, but he had a feeling that whatever was going to happen wasn't anything good.

* * *

**Yay, guys! Score, a second chapter that actually doesn't suck! *happy dance* So yeah, this time I'm being ambitious and I'm aiming for 15 reviews in total (including the ones for Chapter 1)! See ya guys next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well. That was fast. Thanks guys, so much! Again, you guys are awesome... Oh, and for the people who read from Chapter 1, _I made a few adjustments to the last chapter, but they're subtle so I don't really think you guys will notice._  
**

**Thanks for reading this extremely overly-thought-out piece, and wait for the sequel! It's called "Un-Melting", and will be posted if I get about 30 reviews (yes I'm being greedy here)****, and I got a poll in my profile for anything people would like me to add in "Un-Melting". View poll for more details! Of course, "Un-Melting" probably wouldn't come out until I close the poll after about five days...**

**Enjoy the last installment of "Warmth to a Frost Child", and I'll see you in "Un-Melting"!  
**

* * *

Jack wanted to feel the warmth, see the sun, and for once, the ground not covered in white. And now he had it, as he lay on his back on a clearing lush with trees nearby, breathing in the scent of freshly cut grass and feeling the _oh-it-was-so-warm _sun's rays on his face. He was so giddy for the first few moments, being every bit of the child he was when exploring, running around and basking in the bright sunlight, enjoying something so new to him.

But in a sense, he supposed it wasn't _completely _new.

Back when he was alive-human-not a spirit-well, something along those lines, he must have been able to feel the warmth. The memories other than of his death were still a bit blurry and distorted to him, but he faintly remembered when he and his sister would curl up near the fireplace in their father's old rocking chair, and he remembered even more faintly the heat that had nestled inside of him. He thought that maybe, in the slightest way, that kind of warmth and this kind of warmth felt a bit different, but the concept was _ridiculous_ and odd and confusing that he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Jack sighed contently and straightened himself, closing his eyes and smiling. His arms were spread out as if he were making snow angels, but for once there was no snow to make it with and he was oddly _happy_.

He didn't notice that his arms were getting wet.

✽❄**WARMTH**✽**TO**✽**A**✽**FROST**✽**CHILD**❄✽

Bunnymund hopped out of a tunnel into somewhere in Wisconsin, looked around, and hopped right back in. He had followed a trail of footprints to find that the kid had gone somewhere near there, but then it became a bit harder to find him. It wasn't that the footprints just stopped. No, they had become less clear with each step, and it had gone to the point where one couldn't tell if it was a mud puddle or a footprint.

What worried the Pooka was that the footprints he could actually barely recognize were filled with water.

✽❄**WARMTH**✽**TO**✽**A**✽**FROST**✽**CHILD**❄✽

Jack blinked. He had been passing the time guessing cloud shapes ("That one's baby tooth... And oh! It's Bunny's boomerang!"), but his vision had gotten gradually blurrier, and now everything looked odd like water spilled over a watercolor painting. Bringing his right hand up to rub at his eyes, he was surprised to see the back of his hand come away wet. Was he crying? He couldn't be though; he was happier than Tooth with flossed teeth right now. Huh. Maybe this was what Jamie's parents called tears of joy in their soap operas.

Letting his hand fall back down, he closed his eyes and, five minutes later, didn't hear the thump of a pair of feet jumping out of a tunnel.

Bunny looked down at Jack in shock. The kid looked as if he had just been dunked in a swimming pool and he was covered in a sheet of water, it _had_ to be water, because no one could possibly not die of dehydration if that was sweat. But, now that he thought of it, Jack was a bit too still. Oh god, was he breathing? Bunny knelt down and was about to check the spirit's pulse when icy blue eyes shot open. "Stop...," Jack croaked.

Bunny helped him sit up. "Stop wha', Fros'bite? Ya don' tha' good righ' now, mate."

"Stop blocking the light..."

The Pooka warrior sighed. "Fros'bite, yer killing yerself!" He lifted the teen by his waist and started dragging him to at least the cooler shadows of the field. "We have ta get ya out o' here, c'mon-"

He was inturrupted when Jack started clawing at the air, desperate to get away from the arms holding him captive. Bunny had to struggle to keep Jack from escaping as he started to hypervenilate, blue eyes wide and darting wildly. "_Let. Me._ **_Go!_**"

"Mate, yer not in yer righ' mind! Yer _melting_, for Manny's sake!"

"No! _No! **No!**_"

Bunny almost lost his grip on the soaked blue hoodie as Jack made one final attempt to worm out of his grasp, going limp as tears, not water, fell from his eyes. "No..."

They were in the cool shades of the trees above them when Jack started sobbing loudly. "Bunny, please just... just let me go out again... please... it's too _cold_ here." Bunny nodded. "I know, mate. Jus'... jus' hold this," he commanded gently, bringing the staff towards Jack's limp hands.

Bunny's hoping that Jack had run out of steam were dashed when the teen screamed hoarsely and batted the staff away. At first he was stunned. Jack would never do that in his right mind. Then he realized; Jack _wasn't_ in his right mind. He had no idea why he needed the staff and where Bunny was going to take him except for the fact that it would take the warmth away from him.

"Alrigh'. Alrigh'. Ya don' have ta hold it. I'll jus'... take ya to somewhere warmer. Okay?" Bunny lied. As Jack weakly nodded, he opened a tunnel to his Warren and slipped in with Jack in tow.

✽❄**WARMTH**✽**TO**✽**A**✽**FROST**✽**CHILD**❄✽

The Pooka warrior looked forlornly at the frost child's flushed face. He had tired himself out unconscious despite Bunny's pleads not to, and now he could at the least make a direct tunnel to Antarctica to let the snow in the temporary room he had cleared for Jack. The wind, which Bunny now strongly suspected was alive in its own sense, had rushed in with an impressive gust of cold wind, and immediately curled around Jack protectively, even though it wasn't as effective as it would have been in cooling Jack had he had the staff. Bunny had tried several times to put it in either one of the unconscious spirit's hand, but they were both cleched tightly and he had to leave it leaning against the bedpost, as close as he could get it to Jack. He made to exit the room and looked back once, only closing the door when he was assured that the snow had piled up considerably on the floor.

It was time to consult the other Guardians about this.

* * *

**Woot! And we are done! I'll post the sequel when I have at least 30 reviews, and after looking at the results of the poll in my profile after this week! See you guys in "Un-Melting" and thanks for the support!**


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ

**WARNING! THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER!**

**But read it anyway because it's important.**

**EDIT: POLL IS CLOSED!**

**EDIT 2: ****Hey guys! The sequel is up!**  



End file.
